Hope Housing, Training and Support was awarded £2,000 as a contribution to help us fund our ‘Hope Academy’ – Back to Work Accredited Training Project.

Each course holds a class of 10 of our residents. The 10 will be identified according to their needs assessment and support planning. The course will be developed and accredited by The National Open College Network (NOCN). The clients that complete the course will receive 189 guided learning hours over a 12 week period including vocational placements. Their progress will be assessed and they will be awarded 21 credits for successful completion of all the modules. Our clients will be completing Level One or Level Two Training, dependant of their ability. These levels are comparable to:

– (Level 1) NVQ Level 1, GCSEs D-G and Foundation Diploma

– (Level 2) NVQ Level 2, GCSEs A* to C and Higher Diploma

The qualification is accepted and recognised by all colleges across the UK. These credits are transferable between training centres and contribute towards further qualifications. The National Open College Network (NOCN) is a leading UK awarding organisation, offering high quality, flexible, credit-based qualifications and is accredited by the Regulatory Authorities through the UK.

Identify personal strengths and weaknesses – Acknowledge and assess their current life situation and relationships – Identify and record personal short term goals & produce an action plan for achieving these goals

2. Introduction to Team Work

Know and demonstrate what it is meant by a team – Confirm personal action points for ways to improve working with others in a future shared activity

3. Making Choices in Pursuit of Personal Goals

Show awareness of the practical implications of pursuing personal goals – Compile a detailed checklist of actions to action personal goals, including a timetable for completion

4. Assertive Living

Understand the need for time management and be able to implement – Know what stress is and demonstrate strategies for reducing it – Identify his/her self esteem needs and indicate how they can be met

5. Vocational Tasters

In order to pass the course clients will have to complete vocational placements of their choice which we will arrange – Clients will refresh practical working experiences within a workplace – this is great for the CV’s

6. Job Seeking

Outline skills necessary for job searching and composing a CV – Identify sources of information for job vacancies – Identify the essential details that should be included when applying for a job and how to sell themselves

Project Outcomes

Having learnt and passed the course we are confident of the following client outcomes:

We have decided to name the mini bus the ‘Moving Classroom’ as it is our vision the bus will extend our current volunteer and vocational training further afield. It will also increase client engagement in worth-while activities such as; museums, nature walks (including the Dorset Jurassic Coast) and team building exercise centres etc.

With greater access to our local community there is more scope for our clients to learn additional skills, develop a sense of camaraderie with fellow clients – reducing their isolation and learning many positive experiences enabling a greater chance of independent living.

Having a minibus will provide greater access for our clients to enjoy and benefit from the local community. Below you will find the details of the many benefits we expect to see:

Team Building Exercises – We will transport our clients to local centers i.e. rock climbing and explorer courses, that will help them to develop team building skills such as communication, problem solving and multi tasking.

Vocational/Volunteer Placements – With transportation we will be able to provide our clients with opportunities to go to vocational and volunteer placements such as building sites and care homes in order for them to build on their employment skills.

Broadening Horizons – We wish to encourage our clients into new experiences through visits to museums, national parks, and animal centres. We are eager to show them there is more to life than they have experienced (which is usually extremely limited and un-stimulating).

Enterprising – With the ‘Moving Classroom’ we aim to provide more opportunity for our clients to engage in enterprising activities. We will organise activities such as car washing and activities that will benefit the local community, with other local organisations that will help our clients to realise they have valuable and lucrative skills.

Improved Fitness – It is the charity’s intention to promote exercise for clients. With the mini bus we will be able to organise out-door sports events such as rounders and football at local recreational parks.